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Ron,

A boat the size of this Barn Find does not need a floor installed for strength. Also the depth of the hul is so shallow that a floor over the top of the sister keelsons would place the weight of the occupants higher whch can cause problems.

Floors where put into the larger lapstrake boat because the hulls are deeper and this gave on an better position for getting in and out of the boat along with a flat floor for more comfort.

The hull is designed to carry your weight without a problem, provided it is in good condition. I myself weigh close to 250 lb and do not have a problem with getting in our out of the boat when in the water or even on the trailer because I know the hull will hold my weight and a whole lot more.

The floor you see in this Barn Find is at the bow and was there for a storage area only. If you look at the number of main ribs and false or short sister ribs in these picture you can see there is a lot of strength in the hull.

Again if the hull is in good shape and has been taken care of or restored to like new condition it is strong enough to handle your weight provided you do not jump into it front a tall dock.

Phill

Saturday, we were discussing the possibility of fabricating a wood framed windshield for this boat. If anyone has some good pictures of what the windshield should look like or has one that we could get some dimensions off of, please let me know.

Thanks!

Nick

Windshield for what make, model and year boat?

If it's the 1957 Cruisers, Inc. Mariner, why not leave the wrap-around glass (or Plexiglas) one on the boat. It is completely accurate and appropriate for her.

I have made two wooden windshield frames for Thompson Bros. Sea Lancer boats. I bet I can dredge up some photos. I never made any sketches or wrote down any dimensions.

Email me directly if ya want these photos.

Andreas

thompsonboat@msn.com

Well - I know it's a cruisers but you could model a windshield after one of the smaller Thompson's - lots of pics available from the folks on this site or the catalog CD, but I'd agree with AJR - I like the plexi - i'd be concerned a wooden frames windshiled would look ungainly

A lot has happened since last post, will try and catch you up!!!

That same Saturday we kept at her. We had removed the king plank and were having trouble loosening the steering wheel and considered pulling it with the dash. But after looking at structure in bow we realized tha the dash and front cross members had been preassembled then placed into the bow of this 13'er.





We removed screws that held the whole assembly to the ribs and lifted it out in one piece to be refastened and refinished. I stood up the piece on end and let some liquid wrench penetrate down the steering shaft to loosen the wheel. A quick tap with a brass hammer and the wheel popped right off. We then pulled out the forward shelf exposing the entire hull.





With the hull pretty well stripped we began to assess the hog in the bottom about midship of the keelsons. We decided to flip her over and find the screws that held the keelsons in place, we sanded and looked and could not find any screw spots or attachments where the keelsons sat. We discussed it and came to the realization that the keelsons had been used to help form the steam bent ribs and had been attached before the bottom sheets were applied.





So we went to plan B, we flipped her back and looked at the keelsons closely. They were pretty bent and fairly loosely attached, so we removed the two srews that ran through the transom and with a pry bar we popped both keelsons right off the floor. They had been attached by nails and two small screws only! Our intent was to remake the keelsons anyway so damaging them was not a problem, but they came cleanly off the bottom.





We pulled both keelsons and cut off exposed nails with a Dremell tool. This left a clean exposed rib surface to reattach new keelsons. We are planning double thick white oak keelsons that we hope will straighten out the hog.



The next step will be stripper and bleach...



What a Fun Project, wish you were here!!!

As to the windshield, I am in favor of using the original plastic one. It has yet to be cleaned and polished, it is not cracked and still has the original chrome parts.

I am battling to keep her as original as possible. You can restore one of these craft and improve the wood quality in places, deck material, and strengthen the hull, with double thick keelsons without changing the look of the boat.

Next came lots of stripper which was brushed on liberally and allowed to do its job, lots of ventilation and rubber gloves were needed here, and we all learned not to stick your head down in the hull. Scrapers and wire brushes knocked everything loose, but even so several applications were needed to clean up inside hull and transom. Lots of scraping and vacuuming were done by our group of volunteers. We hauled her outside for a good powerwashing to blow out what was left.










We then flooded the hull with some deck bleach to brighten up some of the darkened wood, we kept scooping up the solution in the hull and pouring it back over the dark places. Ater about an hour soaking time we washed her out again. Wow did that make a difference in how she looked, ready for sanding and varnish.



More to come!

WOW. What a great bunch of guys and a super project. You've got us hooked now. Or as I say in the old car restoration field, now that you've got her pregnant, you have to carry her through term.
Can't wait to see the delivery!

So... after power washing the bleach out we let her sit out in the sun and dry for the day. We weighted down the hogged areas with batteries. As she dried out you could really start to see how beautiful this little boat was going to be.





The next Saturday we all attacked her sanders in hand. We used a combination of orbitals and square clamp sanders. we used a 120 grade for the most part.






We kept a vacuum running most of the time to try and keep the dust down in my studio, it seemed to do a pretty good job and we would stop now and then and do the whole hull inside. As some would work on the hull others took turns sanding seat and deck parts.




Raymond showed up a little later in the day but had a huge surprise, the new Keelsons! He had made them from white oak and made them double thickness. Wow do they look great, you could see the hog shape in the bottom when we laid them in but as you pressed them down to the ribs that they would finally attach to you could see the bottom flatten out!






These new Keelson will surely do the trick straightening out this hull. After a day of sanding she is ready for a good vacuuming and some varnish. Andy and i came in on a Wednesday night and added a first coat in the bilge are and especially where the new keelsons were to attach, we also applied the first coat to the new keelsons.






More to come as I have not yet caught up with progress, dang one of these days I'm gonna get in one of these pics!

Dan, very nice work. Many hands make for speedy progress... and lot's of fun too I imagine. I only have one major question from this Michigan guy... how come the water isn't freezing when you are working outside !!!!
Joe B

Joe, You did notice that we had to wear sweat shirts and light jackets as winter here in Texas is a chilly 40 to 50 degrees! And we had the stuff to go outside and work. LOL

A lot has been done since my last post.... Lets see where did I leave off, oh yeah the keelsons had been varnished and a chalk line was made to find position of old keelsons. Holes were drilled in the full ribs and through the bottom sheet then then keelsons held in place as screws were installed from the bottom into them. This really flattened out the bottom and almost got rid of hogs on sides.





Several coats of thinned varnish were applied to entire interior of hull, wow did that raw wood suck up the varnish. It finally started to gloss over as the surface sealed up.



Gary, Andy and I added about the third coat with keelsons in place. Now that the interior had a good coat of varnish it was time for some stain on the transom. since the bilge was already varnished any splattered satin cleaned up easily.




I applied a mixture of Interlux stains 2 parts Chris Craft red mahogany and 1 part Brown mahogany thinned with 333 brushing liquid. I made a mixture about like thin house paint and applied with a bristle brush. I like to let it set for about 10 to 15 min then had Jack buff it out with a soft cloth. You do not want it to dry before buffing it out. I like to retain the grain look and a classic patina. Several days later I added two coats of Captains varnish.







Our next move was to move the hull off the trailer onto a set of low saw horses for keel replacement, we had decided to replace the keel cap anyway and after inspecting the inner half of the keel opted to do it too. This also gave us a chance to inspect the classic TEENEE trailer. She was in fair shape with some needed repairs. Nick is taking her home for a sandblast, repair and paint.




The keel removal and replacement is next.



How are we doing guys, any questions?
More to come.....

wow looks great.

She looks fantastic so far - great work!

The next major repair was the keel, we had intended to replace keel cap anyway and from talking with previous owner she had leaked like a sieve at the keel. When we pulled keel cap we saw why, someone had replaced it earlier and had used silicon caulk and it slid right out of joint between the bottom sheets stuck to keel cap but nothing else. We then decided to replace the upper keel at the same time allowing us to see what was under it.







We pulled inner keel and found the ends of ribs had a little rot at the tips but not in bad shape, we cleaned all up and soaked in penetrating epoxy to seal.
Raymond mad us new inner keel and outer cap from new white oak, and we attached with silicon bronze hardware.





We used the old inner cap as a pattern and matched it up to the front keel on the inside.



We took new inner keelson and drilled through into new cap for silicon bolts. All was bedded in 5200 as it was assembled. Sorry I do not have photos of that stage , I was out of town when the guys laid her up.






We flipped her over and then could work on bolting down keel cap and filling bolt holes in the cap.





Now that the cap was in place and tightened down major sanding on the rest of the hull, priming and painting was our next project!
We have a planned finish date of May 9th for this boat for our annual show on Eagle Mountain Lake, at which time we will have an auction for her!!
Keep posted this lovely little boat will need a new home.

All the while we worked on hull we have also been sanding and prepping all interior parts for stain and varnish.







We used a mixture of 2 parts Chris Craft red and 1 part Brown stain on all pieces.



We hung most all parts after staining for coats of varnish.





Bottom sanding and prep for primer was going on at same time.





Filling dents and sealing seams went along with sanding. We sealed laps with 5200 and allowed a week to cure.
More to Come.